Looking For A Good Graphics Card

[RJ 17]

Hello, my fellow Escapists! Well I finally did it. I finally got Steam and partook in the wonders that was the Steam Summer Sale. To think, I could buy games for the same price as lunch...what a fool I have been.

Anyways, one of the games I picked up was Skyrim because I've seen screenshots and videos on how amazing the game can be on the PC with mods. Just one problem: I'm pretty sure the stock graphics card (if I even have one >.>) in my comp won't be up to snuff in order to truly enjoy the full beauty of the game. So I come to you asking for some good graphics cards that would be compatible with my computer since I really don't know much about such things.

Here's my specs:
Model: Dell XPS 8300
Type: x64-based PC
Processor: Intel Core i5-2320 CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3001 Mhz, 4 Cores, 4 Logical Processors
6GB RAM

If there's any other relevant info for this, just let me know...and also how I'd find I was lucky to find this much information. ^^;

 

[SnowyGamester]

I'm guessing this [http://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-8300-Desktop-i5-2320/dp/B007A2P9GQ] is your rig which means you're likely running a Radeon HD 6450 as your GPU which is piss poor as far as gaming is concerned. The rest of the specs are reasonable enough...the GPU is definitely the bottleneck. What you should replace it with depends entirely on what you're willing to spend. The more you spend, the more power you're going to get. Speaking of power, you're probably going to have to upgrade your PSU if you want to run a reasonably powerful card...it's probably got some 300W garbage in it which won't be enough for a good GPU. Luckily it looks like a standard sized case which means you could use a standard PSU and GPU instead of any slimline stuff.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm guessing this [http://www.amazon.com/Dell-XPS-8300-Desktop-i5-2320/dp/B007A2P9GQ] is your rig which means you're likely running a Radeon HD 6450 as your GPU which is piss poor as far as gaming is concerned. The rest of the specs are reasonable enough...the GPU is definitely the bottleneck. What you should replace it with depends entirely on what you're willing to spend. The more you spend, the more power you're going to get. Speaking of power, you're probably going to have to upgrade your PSU if you want to run a reasonably powerful card...it's probably got some 300W garbage in it which won't be enough for a good GPU. Luckily it looks like a standard sized case which means you could use a standard PSU and GPU instead of any slimline stuff.

Thanks for the response, and that is indeed my computer. Suppose my budget is only about $200-$300, would you have any suggestions for the necessary upgrades to get my computer into at least decent gaming shape? I don't need to be on super-ultra-high settings, as I mentioned the over-all goal here is to get something that would be able to run Skyrim with mods that pretty it up.

 

[SnowyGamester]

Given your budget you may want to go for an Radeon R9 270 [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=26615], the slightly more expensive Radeon R9 270X [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25325], or a GeForce GTX 660 [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27076] depending on your preference of AMD or nVidia. Bare minimum power requirement for any of those cards is around 500W such as provided by this [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24432]. It's generally not recommended that you skimp on the PSU so you might want to go for one of the cheaper choices of GPU and get a PSU with a bit more juice. There aren't any cards with more power than those that are still within your budget assuming that the PSU is included as part of the cost. That being said they may be cheaper depending where you look...I just checked that one local vendor. You're probably better checking somewhere closer to you where you'll get better postage costs and probably also cheaper prices because Australia.

 

[SnowyGamester]

edit: Captcha failed or some bollocks but post still went through. Now there are two posts. Rawr.

 

[RJ 17]

Given your budget you may want to go for an Radeon R9 270 [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=26615], the slightly more expensive Radeon R9 270X [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=25325], or a GeForce GTX 660 [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27076] depending on your preference of AMD or nVidia. Bare minimum power requirement for any of those cards is around 500W such as provided by this [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=24432]. It's generally not recommended that you skimp on the PSU so you might want to go for one of the cheaper choices of GPU and get a PSU with a bit more juice. There aren't any cards with more power than those that are still within your budget assuming that the PSU is included as part of the cost. That being said they may be cheaper depending where you look...I just checked that one local vendor. You're probably better checking somewhere closer to you where you'll get better postage costs and probably also cheaper prices because Australia.

Thanks again for the suggestions. Between those cards and the PSU you suggested, I could stay within my budget. I take it those cards would be good enough to be able to play Skyrim with mods? Or would I be better off trying to save up a bit more for something a little better?

 

[SnowyGamester]

They're far more powerful than the recommended requirements of a Nvidia GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon HD 4890 or higher, which are enough to run Skyrim on 'High' settings. That being the case, an R9 270 or GTX 660 is probably enough to run the game on 'Ultra' settings, assuming the game has settings above 'High', but if you're adding graphics mods into the mix that complicates things. You're probably best to ask some people that are running the game with the mods installed to get a better idea. I suggest you post a question in whatever thread on whatever forum the mods are released in.

 

[RJ 17]

They're far more powerful than the recommended requirements of a Nvidia GeForce GTX 260, ATI Radeon HD 4890 or higher, which are enough to run Skyrim on 'High' settings. That being the case, an R9 270 or GTX 660 is probably enough to run the game on 'Ultra' settings, assuming the game has settings above 'High', but if you're adding graphics mods into the mix that complicates things. You're probably best to ask some people that are running the game with the mods installed to get a better idea. I suggest you post a question in whatever thread on whatever forum the mods are released in.

Thank you very much for all the advice, you've been a big help!